


plaits

by sleeptalker



Category: Orphan Black (TV)
Genre: Gen, sibling fluff basically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-12
Updated: 2014-06-12
Packaged: 2018-02-04 10:07:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1775269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleeptalker/pseuds/sleeptalker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sarah teaches Helena how to plait hair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	plaits

“I need to pull over for a bit,” Sarah sighs, turning the car to the side of the road. Helena stirs from her slumber, blinking rapidly.

“What’s wrong?” She yawns, stretching like a cat.

“I’m just tired.” Sarah mutters. The rumbling of the engine ceases, leaving an uncomfortable silence in the car. She wishes they were still near the highway.

“Must you sleep?” Helena asks, her voice soft.

Sarah doesn’t look at her; she doesn’t feel quite ready for it yet. Instead she stares out the window, taking in the scenery. It’s cold out, and the clouds gathered in the sky seem dark and menacing.

“Can’t.” She says after a while, “there might still be people following us.”

“I will stay on guard.” Helena sits up straighter, glancing over to her sister.

“Nah, I can’t ask you to do that-“

“You must sleep. I will watch out for us.”

“Helena, I-“

“Go to sleep, sestra.”

Sarah looks at her doubtfully, because she really knows that she shouldn’t trust her like this; she’s demonstrated that too many times already. But on the other hand...

“Fine, fine.” Sarah sighs in resignation, and slides lower in her seat, trying to get comfortable. “But you’ve got to wake me up in an hour, okay?”

Helena hums in agreement, and Sarah slides her eyes shut, determined not to waste this hour being awake.  

* * *

“Sarah,” Helena whispers urgently, shaking her twin gently. Sarah begins to stir, and Helena flops back into her seat.

“What is it?” Sarah asks somewhat groggily, looking around. “Is someone here?”

Helena shakes her head, smiling slightly. “I have a very important question to ask you.” She says seriously. Sarah leans forward to her, listening intently.

“What is it?” She probes when Helena doesn’t say anything.

“How do you put your hair into ropes?” Helena asks, cocking her head to the side.

“What?” Sarah rubs her head, squinting at her.

“Your hair.” Helena clarifies. When Sarah still looks confused, she lifts her hands to her hair, pulling some parts down and twisting them. “The ropes, like the little girls wear.”

“You mean plaits?”

“Yes... Plaits.” She says the word slowly, and Sarah can’t help but let out a laugh.

“It’s easy.” She says dismissively, and turns her head to look out the window again.

“Will you teach me?” Helena asks hopefully. Sarah rolls her eyes.

“I guess.”

Helena turns around, and Sarah awkwardly parts her hair, but after attempting to run her fingers through a couple of strands, she stops. “This isn’t going to work.”

“Why?” Helena faces Sarah once more, brow furrowed.

Slightly intimidated, Sarah explains: “Your hair’s too... Matted. And I don’t have a brush, so-“

“We can practice on _your_ hairs!” Helena exclaims excitedly, pushing her sister’s shoulder lightly to get her to turn around.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Helena...”

“Please, sestra?”

Maybe it’s because she’s still tired, or because she knows how bad life has been for Helena since she was taken by that weirdo cult family, but Sarah agrees, however begrudgingly.  

“Yay.” Helena says, “now we shall make you pretty.”

“Okay, great.” Sarah replies sarcastically, but she separates a strand of her own hair and pulls it in front of her, showing Helena what to do. Helena stares at her sister intently, concentrating hard as her fingers weave the strands of hair around each other until it finally forms into a long, thin plait. Sarah lets it fall to her shoulder.

“Do you want to try now?”

“Yes!”

Sarah halves her hair, letting one half hang loose and allowing Helena to take the other. Helena stares at it in awe, until Sarah interrupts: “Are you going to stare at it, or actually do it?”

“I will, um...” Helena carefully separates her hair into 3, and then, looking to Sarah for consent, slowly wraps them around each other. Once she gets to the bottom, she shoots Sarah a confused look. “What must I do now?”

“You tie it...” Sarah explains, pulling a hair tie off of her wrist. “You pull that through, then twist it, and then you pull it through again, see?”

“Okay...” Helena tries it herself, and then lets it fall to Sarah’s shoulder. When Sarah looks up at her again, she’s grinning widely.

“Shut up.” She says good-naturedly, playfully shoving her. Helena shoves her back, a little too hard, but Sarah shrugs it off.

When they drive to the nearest gas station for a bathroom break, Sarah smiles to herself in the mirror.

**Author's Note:**

> first ob fic! i know it's not the best but feedback would be highly appreciated! <3


End file.
